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"We're collecting data to support the development of an Aircraft Recovery Bulletin, a critical step toward arresting the aircraft on CVN 78.

"We look forward to continuing success as the AAG system undergoes planned testing activities for additional aircraft types and models."

Designed for controlled and reliable deceleration of aircraft recovery operations on carriers, AAG is a turbo-electric system that is installed on-board CVN 78 along with the GA-EMS electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS).

The EMALS employs electromagnetic technology to launch aircraft from the deck of naval aircraft carriers and has completed system testing on CVN 78.GA-EMS president Scott Forney said: "We're tracking to a very aggressive testing schedule, and this fly-in recovery marks a major step toward AAG readiness for on-board testing on the Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)."

Built by Boeing, the F/A-18 Super Hornet is capable of landing and taking off from an aircraft carrier.

The twin-engine, supersonic, all weather multirole fighter jet is fitted with conformal fuel tanks, an enclosed weapons pod, an enhanced engine and a reduced radar signature.

"While landing after completing a combat task in the Syrian sky, a Su-33 fighter jet skidded off the deck because the cable of arresting device broke. The pilot ejected and was immediately brought aboard the Admiral Kuznetsov heavy aircraft carrier by rescuers. His life is not in danger," the ministry said.

The naval group's aviation continues its mission as planned, it added: "The ship-based aviation continues its flights in accordance with its tasks."

After a few cruise missile launches and bombing raids on targets on the Syrian rebel-held province of Idlib in mid-November, the Russian navy task force in the northeastern Mediterranean remains largely inactive, contrary to expectations. Just before the strikes, the task force suffered the embarrassing loss of a MiG-29K on November 13. Then on December 3 one of its Su-33s overshot the carrier and crashed into the sea.

The pilots of both aircraft ejected and were subsequently rescued, but both aircraft sank to the bottom of the sea. These are painful losses for the Russian navy, especially the MiG-29K single-seater multirole fighter, only 20 of which were procured, along with four MiG-29KUB two-seat operational trainers, with deliveries in 2013-2015.The MiG accident was initially attributed to unspecified technical malfunctions. But it emerged later that the MiG-29K was lost after it exhausted all its fuel while awaiting clearance to land on the carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. The permission was never issued because the carrier’s crew had not managed to repair the Svetlana-2M arresting equipment in time, after one of its four wires broke. The MiG could have been saved, if the carrier's commander had instructed the pilot to divert to an airbase in Syria or Cyprus. But he hesitated to approve such an alternative, in the hope that the ship's arrestor gear would be repaired quickly.The Su-33 loss followed the failure of an arrestor wire on landing.

The day after the MiG-29K crash, the task force did dispatch several aircraft to drop bombs on targets in rebel-held areas. Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu said on November 15 that for the first time in the history of the Russian navy, its fleet air arm was involved in striking real targets. “Beforehand, we carried out careful, thorough assessment of targets of all kinds. Using the information gathered, we marked targets of major concern, such as ammunition depots, concentrations and, most of all, training centers operated by unlawful armed groups or, to be precise, terrorists.”

Remarkably, the MiG-29K/KUBs, better suited for bombing missions, are yet to be used in anger. Instead, the navy has relied on Sukhoi Su-33s also aboard the Kuznetsov. These were developed as interceptors and, while having an infrared search and track system (IRST) and laser rangefinder/target designator, do not carry precision guided air-ground munitions. On strike missions the aircraft can carry up to eight 500-kg bombs or RBK-500 cluster bombs or twenty-eight 250-kg bombs attached to single- or multiple-beam racks.Naval Su-33s struck the rebels with free-fall bombs using SVP-24-33 kit installed on the aircraft shortly before the carrier departed her home base, Severomorsk, for the Mediterranean. This subsystem is a derivative of the SVP-24 “specialized calculating subsystem” developed by the Gefest company for the Su-24M2 frontal bomber, the primary Russian type employed in Syria. It does trajectory calculations for cueing the pilot in using free-fall bombs. The Russian Air and Space Force (VKS) finds its accuracy adequate for the theater. Higher computing power and use of more advanced algorithmsimproves by up to five-fold the accuracy of Su-33 strikes using unguided weapons compared to the factory standard.

Among the other recent modifications to the Su-33s are installation of modern EW equipment and incorporation of a navigation and aiming system employing Glonass/GPS satellite receivers. In addition, the aircraft were refurbished with the more robust AL31FM1 engines with a longer life and maximum thrust boosted to 13,500 kgf (about 30,000 pounds). A dozen of these improved Su-33s remain combat worthy at the moment, according to unofficial estimates.

Recent reports state that a number of the MiGs and Sukhois that came with the carrier are now operating from the Hmeymim airbase in Latakia, along with Su-24M2s, Su-30SMs, Su-34s and Su-35Ss already based there. However, on December 4, a Russian TV report from Kuznetsov showed a MiG-29K loaded with KAB-500KR electro-optically guided bombs being prepared for takeoff.

U.S. Marine CorpsF-35Bs will operate alongside UK F-35s from Britain’s new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in 2021 when the vessel makes its first operational deployment.

U.K. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon made the announcement Dec. 15, formalizing an agreement that has been in the works for some time. Both U.S. and Royal Air Force officers have previously hinted the Queen Elizabeth’s first embark would likely involve Marine Corps F-35Bs, and use of the British carrier is mentioned in the Marine Corps annual aviation plan.

“[U.S. Defense] Secretary Carter has long championed the regeneration of UK carrier strike capability, even enabling our pilots to fly F-35 off U.S. carriers,” Fallon said in a Dec. 15 press conference with Carter. “Now, we’ve agreed to return the favor, so that by 2021, U.S. F-35Bs will operate from our Queen Elizabeth carriers in turn.”

The deployment on the Queen Elizabeth will likely be in conjunction with a Marine Expeditionary Unit, Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant for aviation, told Aviation Week in November.

The Queen Elizabeth’s first deployment will take place shortly after the U.K. declares initial operational capability (IOC) for F-35 maritime operations from the ship, currently planned for the end of 2020. IOC for land operations is sooner, expected by the end of 2018. The first British F-35 squadron, 617 Sqn, will stand up in 2018 at RAF Marham, which will become the UK’s main F-35 operating base. A contingent will remain in the U.S. to continue operational test and evaluation at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Fallon stressed the special relationship between the two nations during the press conference.

“So, we’re strengthening our special relationship, looking forward to unprecedented levels of interoperability and cooperation, and thus ensuring that Secretary Carter’s tenure ends on a high,” he said.

Nuclear submarine special purpose "Moscow" accepted into the Naval Fleet of Russia after the repair, the report said ship repair "Zvezdochka" the press service center (part of the "United Shipbuilding Corporation").

Repair of the submarine ended in October 2016, and in November-December bomber passed state tests and performed several exits into the sea, to check all the systems and mechanisms.

Submarine "Moscow" has been converted from a K-64 missile 667BDRM project into the boat, designed for use with nuclear deep-water stations and unmanned underwater vehicles in the interests of the Main Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry deepwater research.

An 18-month-old plan to equip the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton with a signals intelligence payload will proceed after the US Navy received approval from top Pentagon officials August 2016, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) tells FlightGlobal.

That multi-intelligence (multi-INT) suite of sensors will enable the navy to proceed with plans to retire the Lockheed Martin EP-3E ARIES II, the subset of the P-3C fleet tasked with eavesdropping on communications and other transmissions."Triton does similar things to what the EP-3 can do — similar profiles, conops [concept of operations] that sort of thing, so it’s kind of a logical transition," Burke says.

The navy had proposed fielding the MQ-4C with a multi-INT capability in 2021 for several years, but the concept at last received final approval in August. The acceptance came with the decision by Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defence for acquisition, technology and logistics, to approve the MQ-4C to enter low-rate initial production.

The first two MQ-4Cs will be delivered in Fiscal 2018 with a maritime reconnaissance capability only. Three years later, the first MQ-4Cs augmented with a SIGINT payload are scheduled to achieve initial operational capability, Burke says.

The upgrade plan allows the navy to replace the EP-3E fleet without incurring the expense of a dedicated replacement programme, but requires operators to adapt the mission from crewed reconnaissance aircraft to a UAV that transmits SIGINT data to a ground station in real time.

The service will change the baseline aircraft later on to fit the multi-intelligence configuration, which will take about six to seven months to retrofit. System development and demonstration for the baseline configuration wrapped in December and the Navy began its preliminary design review for the multi-intelligence configuration later that month, Burke says.

Triton will fly four aircraft at each of its proposed five surveillance orbits in Guam, Italy, the Persian Gulf and and both US coasts.

Systems testing aboard the US Navy's (USN's) new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, lead ship the future USS Gerald R Ford , is more than three-quarters complete, according to Michael Petters, CEO of shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)."CVN 78 Ford is essentially complete, with less than 10% of the overall test programme remaining to be completed," Petters told a recent briefing on the company's earnings. "We are prosecuting the repairs on the main turbine generators and moving towards sea trials."

Resolving issues relating to the turbine generators has been a challenge as the company has worked towards delivering the ship. The navy had planned to take delivery of the ship in 2016; at this stage, no delivery date has been confirmed, although IHS Jane's understands that the navy may provide an update on progress towards this aim by the end of the year.

Two of the key systems currently undergoing additional testing are the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG). These systems are central to the launch and recovery, respectively, of embarked aircraft.

Of the two, EMALS development, installation, and integration have kept mostly to schedule and expectation. The system has undergone nearly all testing planned before delivery, according to Michael Land, a spokesperson for Naval Air Systems Command, in response to questions from IHS Jane's . Once that testing is complete and the carrier is delivered, HII's team will turn the system over to Ford 's crew to test EMALS with aircraft onboard the ship.

AAG testing appears to be back on track following some setbacks, according to the USN. The navy is still testing the system, following a re-design of its water-twister components.

"Further land-based system testing is concurrently taking place at both the Jet Car Track Site [JCTS] and Runway Arrested Landing Site [RALS] at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, in New Jersey," said Land. "As part of AAG performance testing, a first-of-its-kind fly-in recovery of an F/A-18E Super Hornet was completed in mid-October, following more than 200 roll-in arrestments at RALS and more than 1,350 dead-load arrestments at JCTS. At the completion of performance testing with the Super Hornet, an initial operating envelope for [the] F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Aircraft Recovery Bulletin [ARB] will be generated, allowing system testing with manned aircraft aboard CVN 78. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet ARB will be delivered to meet CVN 78's scheduled aircraft compatibility testing."

"Future phases of testing with other aircraft will occur in 2017, beginning with testing of dead-loads representative of each type/model/series at JCTS, followed by manned aircraft testing at RALS, which will include both roll-in and fly-in arrestments. Subsequent ARBs will be generated following this multi-phased test plan," Land added.

As HII finishes up its testing on Ford , the shipbuilder also has been underway with construction on CVN 79, John F Kennedy . The company says work on the second Ford-class ship is 25% complete.Challenges with the AAG technology prompted an investigation by the Pentagon Inspector General (IG).

"Ten years after the programme entered the engineering and manufacturing development phase, the navy has not been able to prove the capability or safety of the system to a level that would permit actual testing of the system on an aircraft carrier because of hardware failures and software challenges," the IG said, in a report released in July 2016.

The IG recommended that the USN should "perform cost-benefit analyses to determine whether the AAG is an affordable solution for navy aircraft carriers before deciding to go forward with the system on future aircraft carriers." IHS Jane's understands that the navy is planning to respond to the report.

In 2015, a 30 Year Old French Nuclear Submarine 'Sank' a U.S. Aircraft Carrier

Kyle MizokamiDecember 31, 2016nIn March 2015, one of the largest nuclear-powered warships in the world was “sunk” by one of the smallest.

The Saphir, a French nuclear attack submarine, reportedly penetrated the defenses of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and scored simulated torpedo hits on her. The incident, originally reported by the French Navy, was later suppressed.

On March 4th, 2015 the French Navy announced in a blog post that the submarine Saphir (“Sapphire”) had simulated stalking and killing the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Not only was the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier simulated sunk but an unknown number of her escorts. The post was later removed without comment from the blog.

Here’s what the world knows: according to the French navy blog post (saved and reproduced by the RP Defense blog), the exercise between Saphir and the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group took place before an operational deployment. According to the French navy, the carrier strike group included several Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine.

According to U.S. Naval Institute News, Carrier Strike Group 12 (CSG 12) departed Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Station Mayport on March 5th for a Middle East deployment. CSG12 included the carrier Roosevelt, the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Normandy and Arleigh Burke class destroyers Winston S. Churchill, Forrest Sherman, and Farragut from Destroyer Squadron 2 provided escort.

The blog post explained that the pre-deployment exercise, which occurred off the coast of Florida, took place in two phases. The first phase involved the Saphir integrated with U.S. Navy forces to locate enemy submarines and pass data on to other friendly anti-submarine warfare assets. The “enemy submarine” in this case may have been the Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine attached to CSG 12.

In the second phase of the exercise, the Saphir switched sides and became part of the enemy force. The French nuclear submarine was teamed up with U.S. Navy P-3C Orion and P-8 Poseidons. Saphir was to locate the Roosevelt and get into position to sink her. As the exercise scenario degenerated into a shooting war, Saphir was given permission to attack. The submarine reportedly “sank” Roosevelt and “most” of its escorts.

The French Navy’s blog post was announced on Twitter on March 4th, but was quickly deleted. Several defense outlets picked up on the deletion, and the state-sponsored RT (Russia Today) crowed that a “major vulnerability” had allowed Saphir to penetrate Roosevelt’s screen. That was pure speculation, as the original French Navy post does not mention any such vulnerability.

Nevertheless, the incident appears to have actually happened. The most likely explanation for the deletion of the blog post was that it was simply embarrassing to a major French ally.

Saphir is the second of six Rubis-class nuclear attack submarines built for the French Navy. Rubis is the first generation of French nuclear attack submarines—while the French Navy has had nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines since the mid-60s, French attack submarines were conventionally powered until the early 1980s. At 2,630 tons submerged and 241 feet long the Rubis class may also be the smallest nuclear combatants ever put to sea. Each submarine has a crew of just 70 and is driven by one K48 pressurized water reactor to a speed of 25 knots underwater. The Rubis subs each have four bow torpedo tubes equipped with F17 Mod 2 torpedoes and MM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles.

How did such a tiny submarine kill a ship almost fifty times larger than itself? First of all, we don’t know the rules of engagement of the exercise. Were the Roosevelt’s escorts using all of their anti-submarine warfare sensors? Was there any prohibition or curb on their use, or were any of them declared inoperative for the purposes of the exercise?

Second, it’s important to remember that “sunk” is in quotation marks for a reason. The French F17 torpedo has a 551 pound HBX-3 high explosive warhead. It can also only fire a salvo of four torpedoes at a time, due to having only four torpedo tubes. A 551 pound torpedo warhead would probably not sink a Ticonderoga or Burke-class escort, and though it would undoubtedly damage, it would definitely not sink a Nimitz-class supercarrier. Also, given a screen of four escort ships and Roosevelt’s onboard anti-submarine warfare helicopters, a single salvo of four torpedoes was all Saphir was going to get before it was forced to withdraw.

Provided Saphir targeted Roosevelt and three of her escorts, it would have damaged four ships—not sunk them. Although the distinction is less important when it comes to the escorts, which might have been knocked out of action, with just one torpedo in her Roosevelt would have likely still been capable of air operations.

The U.S. Navy’s anti-submarine warfare skills have deteriorated greatly since the end of the Cold War, and particularly since 9/11. The emphasis on land wars has directed the Navy’s energies—and budget—elsewhere. Still, as the Chinese Navy continues to grow and the Russian Navy is used more aggressively in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas, improving ASW is becoming a well-deserved priority. The “sinking” of the Theodore Roosevelt may have been a blow to pride, but it was also an important wakeup call. The next time a foreign submarine stalks a U.S. Navy carrier with nearly six thousand people on board, it could be the real thing.

Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national-security writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in the Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and the Daily Beast. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security

PS:A salvo of 4 torpedoes striking a carrier on one side would be able to cause a severe list preventing air operations,esp. cat launches. stabilising the list would be v,difficult. It would take considerable time and require assistance from other escorts esp. if there were fires aboard the carrier.The time taken to reload the tubes to attack the escorts would be far faster than any anti-sub countermeasures or helo attack. The sub would have been able to make a second attack against the escorts before they could react.They would have to first locate the sub before taking any action.A second attack on the listing carrier would definitely finish her off,at least as a fighting force.The carrier would have to be taken in tow is still afloat to the nearest safe port .If the attack was made during darkness,it would be harder still for the escorts to locate the sub/scopes.

Following the withdrawal of 348-S Saldiray (and to confirm the rumors that they want not modernized Turkish Type 209/1200 submarines to be in poor condition), quietly decommissioned on November 30, 2016 the first submarine of this class, S-347 Atilay . Last public appearance of the vessel was in Samsun on 17-18 August 2015, which was open to the public. The 347-S Atilay (along with the 348-S Saldiray and 349-S Batiray ) will be probably test vessel for national development systems, in the design and construction preparation of Turkish National Submarine. As a result, in the near future is expected to be withdrawn and the remaining non-modernized craft class, S-349 Batiray and 350-S Yildiray .

BATH, Maine: With Donald Trump demanding more ships, the US Navy is proposing the biggest shipbuilding boom since the end of the Cold War to meet threats from a resurgent Russia and saber-rattling China.

The Navy's 355-ship proposal released last month is even larger than what the Republican Trump had promoted on the campaign trail, providing a potential boost to shipyards that have struggled because of budget caps that have limited money funding for ships.

At Maine's Bath Iron Works, workers worried about the future as they want to build more ships but wonder where the billions of dollars will come from.

"Whether Congress and the government can actually fund it, is a whole other ball game,'' said Rich Nolan, president of the shipyard's largest union.

Boosting shipbuilding to meet the Navy's 355-ship goal could require an additional $5 billion to $5.5 billion in annual spending in the Navy's 30-year projection, according to an estimate by naval analyst Ronald O'Rourke at the Congressional Research Service.

The Navy's revised Force Structure Assessment calls for adding another 47 ships including an aircraft carrier built in Virginia, 16 large surface warships built in Maine and Mississippi, and 18 attack submarines built in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Virginia. It also calls for more amphibious assault ships, expeditionary transfer docks and support ships.

In addition to being good for national security, a larger fleet would be better for both the sailors, who'd enjoy shorter deployments, and for the ships, which would have more down time for maintenance, said Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America, which represents most of the major Navy shipbuilders.

"Russia and China are going to continue to build up their navies," he said. ``The complexities aren't going to get any easier. The Navy, more than any of the services, is our forward presence. We're going to need this Navy.''

Many defense analysts agree that military capabilities have been degraded in recent years, especially when it comes to warships, aircraft and tanks.

The key is finding a way to increase Navy shipbuilding to achieve defense and economic gains ``in a fiscally responsible way that does not pass the bill along to our children,'' said independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, a member of the Armed Services Committee.

Even when Trump takes office, no one envisions a return to the heady days during the Cold War when workers were wiring, welding, grinding, pounding and plumbing ships at a furious pace to meet President Ronald Reagan's audacious goal of a 600ship Navy.

The Navy currently has 274 deployable battle force ships, far short of its old goal of 308 ships.

Lawrence J. Korb, a retired naval officer and former assistant defense secretary under Reagan, said the Navy's request isn't realistic unless the Trump administration is willing to take the budget ``to levels we've never seen.''

"You never have enough money to buy a perfect defense. You have to make trade-offs,'' said Korb, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

But investors apparently are betting on more ships.

General Dynamics, which owns Bath Iron Works, Connecticut-based Electric Boat and California-based NASSCO, and Huntington Ingalls, which owns major shipyards in Virginia and in Mississippi, have both seen stock prices creep upward since the election.

"To the generic military shipbuilder, it's a bull market right now,'' said Ronald Epstein, an analyst at Bank of America's Merrill Lynch division.

In Bath, the 6,000 shipbuilders aren't going to count their eggs before they hatch.

"A lot of people are hopeful that it'll happen,'' Nolan said. ``But they're taking a wait-and-see approach. They've heard it before and then seen it not come to fruition.''

Shipbuilding takes time. At best Trump can set the ball rolling but it will be dangerous to embark on an ambitious shipbuilding strategy that does not have bipartisan support. It takes year to create capacity. Going to 2 Virginia Class production a year took around 5 years iirc, and moving to 3 subs a year (2 Virginia and 1 Columbia) will take a fair bit of time too. Add another sub and you are likely going to need a window wider than his term. Same with creating capacity elsewhere across the shipbuilding portfolio. This isn't aircraft procurement where you can increase production and annual buy rates quite often over a small period of time.

This is an area Mattis and his SecNav would have to build broad political consensus on (and the General was smart to offer his number 2 job to Michele Flournoy (who declined))as it would be a huge boost to bi-partisian consensus building..) , otherwise there is likely to be quite a lot of disruption when you need stability more than anything else. If given a choice the Admirals would likely be willing to trim that 355 count if it means long term stability.

Raytheon’s Standard Missile 6 has been cleared by the Pentagon for international sales and a trio of potential Pacific nations are likely the first customers.

SM-6 — currently in limited initial production – is a key weapon in the both the Navy’s emerging distributed lethality concept and the service’s Naval Integrated Fire Control Counter-Air (NIFC-CA) for its ability to strike air, surface and limited ballistic missile targets.

Of the five international Aegis combat system operators, three are in the process to have the upgraded combat system to field the SM-6 – Australia, Japan and South Korea.

All three countries to have guided missile combatants upgraded to Aegis Baseline 9. Baseline 9 replaces the Aegis combat system older military specific computers with commercial-off-the-shelf servers to handle the data the ships absorb through its radar and adds a multi-signal processor. The modifications allow an Aegis ship to take targeting information from a third party to interdict air and sea warfare threats using the SM-6.

Concerns with both North Korean and Chinese military expansion have driven countries in the region to likewise expand their military capability — particularly at sea.

“These are international Aegis shipbuilding program that are under construction today or new construction,” Thad Smith with Raytheon told reporters on Tuesday.

Australia’s three under construction Hobart-class guided missile destroyers are set to acquire an extended range active anti-air missile as well as an upgrade of its combat system to Baseline 9.

Japan has two new construction 27DDG guided missile destroyers, which will field Aegis Baseline 9 combat system and Japan’s two existing Atago-class destroyers are set to receive a Baseline 9 upgrade.

Korea’s three planned new Sejong the Great-class guided missile destroyers are also being built with Baseline 9 and will also field the SM-3 ballistic missile defense interceptor.

While the three countries all could field the SM-6 its unclear if each country will be allowed to use all three modes of the missile – anti-air warfare, anti-surface and a limited ballistic missile defense capability.

While the missiles will all have the inherent capability for all three missions, the U.S. government will determine which of those features will be activated for international sales, Smith said.

Over the last several years, Japan, Australia and South Korea have made defense buys that could conceivably share targeting information and other data easily with U.S. forces that could create a much more linked network of allies in the Western Pacific.

HANOI --- Russia’s arms exporter Rosoboronexport has delivered the last Project 636.1 Varshavyanka-class (NATO reporting name: Kilo) diesel-electric submarine to Vietnam and, thus, fulfilled the contract for the delivery of a batch of six submarines, which had been signed in late 2009.

The submarine was transported from the Admiralty Wharves Shipyard in St. Petersburg in northwest Russia to Cam Ranh in central Vietnam with the use of the Netherlands’ heavy load carrier Rolldock Star.

The ship will be unloaded and the submarine will be floated out within the next three days after all administrative procedures are completed and customs documentation is formalized.

Today, the Vietnamese Navy operates the first four Project 636.1 submarines, in particular, the Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hai Phong and Da Nang.

The contract for the construction of a batch of six Project 636.1 submarines was worth about $2 billion. ...

Raytheon’s Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) plant in Huntsville, Alabama, has secured its fourth full-rate production contract after an eventful 2016 that saw the supersonic, multi-mission missile link up with the Lockheed Martin F-35 as well as destroy a decommissioned warship and medium-range ballistic missile. The $235 million contract, which the company says was awarded on Jan. 17 but has not yet been announced by the government, supports the production of new missile bodies and spare parts, with deliveries beginning in 2018.

Raytheon confirms that the order provides missiles with the additional anti-surface warfare capability, which was demonstrated in January against the retired USS Reuben James off the coast of Hawaii. The missile was fired by the USS John Paul Jones, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer used to test new Aegis weapon systems....

The Mach 3.5-capable SM-6 has a range of about 200 nm. It can receive target updates from the Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye add other “offboard sensors” during flight via the Navy’s integrated fire control architecture. That allows it to hit stationary and moving targets over the horizon with better precision. In a September test at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, missile range, an F-35 demonstrated its ability to provide targeting information to an SM-6 to take out a cruise missile.

The Harpoon-ER is based on the networked AGM-84 “Block 2+” variant, slated to become operational this year. Boeing hopes to double the missile’s range from 67 to 134 nm by introducing a more efficient turbojet engine as well as a lighter-weight warhead with the same explosive punch to free up space for additional fuel.

Harpoon-ER retains the same radar-homing seeker, data link and electronics as the Block 2+, and the physical size and shape remain the same as well, thereby limiting integration and recertification costs.

Troy Rutherford, Boeing’s director of cruise missile systems, says captive-carry flight trials are underway and the first shot could take place sometime this financial quarter.

“We’ve been doing captive-carry at Point Mugu for an -ER shot and look forward to doing the launch early this year,” Rutherford tells Aviation Week. “We’re working with the Navy on securing open range time, but we’re all anxious to do it as soon as possible. We’re definitely shooting for [the first quarter].”Harpoon-ER is Boeing’s offering for Navsea’s upcoming Over-the-Horizon Weapon System (OTH-WS) competition, which seeks a mature, off-the-shelf anti-ship missile for the LCS/Frigate fleet. A request for proposals (RFP) is expected later in January, even as the Navy debates the future of its LCS procurement. The seagoing service still is nOt sold on the ship class, and could downselect one type by 2018 or transition to a completely new design.

An over-the-horizon weapon will likely be needed, regardless, and other likely contenders are the Lockheed Martin surface-launched long-range anti-ship missile (LRASM), and a Raytheon-Kongsberg Gruppen team offering the latter’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM). Full-scale development of Harpoon Block 2+ began in 2012. Boeing has already begun low-rate production of the modification kits, and the first upgraded weapons will be declared ready for combat in the first or early second financial quarter this year, pending an operational demonstration.

Boeing says Harpoon-ER is the natural follow-on for the Navy because it maintains commonality with the existing Harpoon infrastructure already paid for and installed on Navy ships, submarines and aircraft. The Harpoon Block 1C was tested aboard the USS Coronado (LCS-4), an Independence-class LCS, in July during the annual Rim of the Pacific, or Rimpac, exercise.

Boeing faces formidable opponents in its bid for OTH-WS.

Kongsberg’s NSM has a range of more than 200 km (108 nm) and was test-launched from the USS Coronado in September 2014. The low-observable missile uses an imaging infrared seeker with autonomous target recognition algorithms to classify and zero in on enemy ships.

LRASM is derived from the U.S. Air Force’s extended-range AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, which has an unclassified range of approximately 500 nm. It will be ready for combat aboard the B-1B in 2018 and on the Super Hornet in 2019.

Lockheed has been self-funding development of a rocket-boosted version for ships and submarines to meet the Navy’s longstanding OASuW Increment 2 requirement, but the nearer-term contract opportunity will be OTH-WS.

Production of an infrared-homing Harpoon-variant, the Standoff Land Attack Missile-ER, went out of production in 2008, but Boeing is considering restarting that line for overseas sales. The company’s Phantom Works division is also working on clean-sheet missile designs for a potential, longer-term Navy requirement, tentatively known as OASuW Increment 3.

Thailand has confirmed a budget of $380 million to procure the first of three S26T submarines from China, Thai officials said on Wednesday.

Last year, the government did not approve the same purchase request. Thailand will order the submarine under a government-to-government deal with China.

The S26T Chinese submarine has a submerged displacement of 2,600 tons and is equipped with an air-independent propulsion [AIP] system.

The S26T will be based on the Type 039A SSK of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) also referred to as Yuan class. It is a fairly recent design that was first commissioned in 2008 with a displacement of 3,600 tons and a length of 75 meters. It may also feature an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system as an auxiliary system to a regular diesel-electric power.

As Norway prepares to modernize it submarine-hunting maritime patrol fleet, Kongsberg is looking to equip the nation’s new Boeing P-8s with its Joint Strike Missile (JSM).

The JSM is a long-range anti-ship and land-attack missile, jointly built by Kongsberg and Raytheon to equip the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The JSM is undergoing flight tests on F-16s, and Norway plans to field the new weapon on its operational JSF fleet in the 2020s. It is the only powered strike missile that fits internally on the JSF, enabling the aircraft to maintain stealth in high-threat environments.

As flight tests progress, Kongsberg plans uses beyond the F-35. JSM could also enhance the anti-surface capability of Norway’s new P-8s, which will be tasked with hunting Russian submarines and other threats in the North Atlantic, says Hans Kongelf, vice president of missile systems. Kongsberg has explored integrating the JSM on the P-8, although the company is not in formal discussions with the government about adding the capability to the maritime patrol fleet, he says.

“JSM has been designed to handle the worst-case arrested landings on carriers, so it’s a walk in the park to hang under a P-8,” says Kongelf.

While Norway is not considering placing the JSM on P-8s in the near term because the new capability will not even begin to be fielded until the early 2020s, chief of the Royal Norwegian Air Force Brig. Gen. Tonje Skinnarland calls it an option for the future.

She notes that having JSM and Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM), a similar capability designed to equip navy ships, “tremendously opens the envelope,” creating a network that will enable Norwegian forces to cover vast areas.

This could be the second Anti Ship/Land Attack missile being integrated after the Harpoon (ER should be a straight forward integration). The Aussies have a clause for the JPO to pursue JASSM down the road as well so perhaps that could also be looked at.

No range against a surface target has ever been disclosed. It, much like the same capability on the older generation SM2, is a secondary capability to maximize the VLS restricted payload flexibility and increase firepower available on dial. The primary weapon for strike would still be the dedicated missiles for such a role which at the moment aren't really a priority for the USN.

The extent of China's claim (practically the entire ocean region of the South China Sea) which no country can enter without their permission is absurd. It will inevitably lead to war. In trying to throw its weight around regionally, it has created a US led coalition against it that is growing stronger by the day.

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US would go into any war with China with 'unparalleled violence', warn experts

OSLO: Norway has picked Germany as its strategic partner for new submarines, making Thyssenkrupp the likely supplier, Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said on Friday.Norway plans to buy four submarines and Germany two, while fellow NATO members Poland and the Netherlands may add to the order at a later stage, she said, adding that the cost of the vessels has not yet been determined.“We first and foremost sought a strategic partner ... When Germany offered to buy identical submarines together with us, that opened the path to close cooperation throughout their expected lifetime,” Soereide told Reuters.The Nordic country said last April France’s DCNS and ThyssenKrupp were the strongest candidates to supply submarines to replace its existing “Ula class” fleet, built between 1987 and 1992.“The decision means that Germany will accelerate its plans to buy new submarines,” the German Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding it would secure the country’s role in a key technological area for years to come.The deal will relieve pressure on Thyssenkrupp to intensify restructuring or even sell its naval business, after it lost out to DCNS, which is 35 percent-owned by defense electronics giant Thales, in a $38 billion Australian submarine tender last year.“Norway will now enter into final negotiations with German authorities. When a government-to-government agreement is in place, a German-Norwegian negotiation toward the German submarine supplier Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems will commence,” Norway’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.The submarines will be based on the so-called 212-design already in service in Germany and Italy.Norway’s Kongsberg Gruppen is expected to be a key supplier of equipment to the submarines.Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems CEO Peter Feldhaus said the agreement would be valuable to industry in both countries.“We are extremely pleased and proud that we managed to convince Norway of the superiority of our proven technology,” he added.France’s DCNS said it regretted the decision and stood ready to come back into the bidding if German talks with Norway break down.“We remain convinced that our offer was superior, in particular in the anti-submarine warfare area, crucial for operations and patrols in the High North,” it said in a statement.Norway said its aim is to sign a common contract for submarines in 2019, enabling deliveries from the mid-2020s to 2030.European NATO members are under pressure from new US President Donald Trump to spend more on defense.

V.interesting for the IN to examine more closely,as the Germans have also offered us a G-to-G deal for U-boats,sorry...sausages!

Laura Hughes, political correspondent 5 FEBRUARY 2017 • 11:15AMBritain's ability to defend itself against a major military attack has been called into question after an investigation found Navy warships are so loud they can be heard 100 miles away by Russian submarines.

Rear Admiral Chris Parry, a former director of operational capability for the Ministry of Defence, said the £1 billion a piece Type 45 destroyers are “as noisy as hell” and sound like "a box of spanners" underwater.

It comes amid warnings that years of defence cuts and expensive procurement contracts with a small number of large defence firms, has the left the military with an "existential minimum" amount of equipment.

The Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan being assisted by dockyard tugs CREDIT: RAYMOND WERGANThe Ministry of Defence spent £3.5bn on each of the Army's Ajax tanks, but they are unable to fit on board transport aircraft without needing to be dismantled, according to an investigation by the Sunday Times.

A further £1.2 billion was spent on 54 Watchkeeper reconnaissance drones, which haven’t entered frontline service for 12 years.

General Sir Richard Barrons, a former commander of Joint Forces Command, has called on the Government to "re-bench" the armed forces.

He said: "You are dealing with a legacy of iterative hollowing out, which has reached a point where the frog has boiled."

Long-rumoured problems with the Navy’s fleet of six Type 45 destroyers that left them total powerless were confirmed early this year.

The Ministry of Defence issued a statement admitting “reliability issues” had affected the ships and said that it was considering upgrades to the vessels to make them more reliable.

Sir Richard Barrons said defence cuts had left the military with an "existential minimum" amount of equipment and supplies CREDIT: HARLAND QUARRINGTON/MODThe warships were originally designed to work in the cool waters of the North Atlantic, but in hotter climates, the jet engines have experienced problems with heat, causing them to shut down.

Admiral Parry said: “We used to put little wooden wedges between the hatchclips and the hatches in my destroyer to stop them rattling so we could keep the noise down."

“We have forgotten all about it — it’s crazy. Noise suppression has been probably the biggest dirty secret since the end of the Cold War that people have been cheerfully ignoring.”

The Ministry of Defence ordered 54 Watchkeeper reconnaissance drones in 2005 in an £847m deal to provide surveillance and reconnaissance for troops.

The drones can beam back high definition images as they fly up to 16,000ft above the battlefield, but technical and safety delays have meant that apart from a brief stint in Afghanistan, the aircraft will not enter full service until this year.

An MOD spokesperson said: "Britain's defence budget is the biggest in Europe and it is growing every year, we are investing £178 billion as the UK steps up globally.

"We are focused on maintaining an affordable programme and getting the best value for the taxpayer to deliver the cutting-edge kit our Armed Forces need to keep Britain safe."

This is the reason why the USN want's more Super's. Under Obama and the BCA the Navy (and the AF, and army) traded readiness for modernization hoping that the BCA caps will someday be lifted and allow them to buy back readiness (USN tiers its readiness). This is going to be Trump and Mattis's major push starting the very first budget supplemental and into the 2018 budget which he now expects to deliver by May, 2017.

Even with new injection of funds it's still a good 5-10 year process to get readiness back to pre-BCA levels. They are being saved by the Super Hornets which are young and are having to take over the Classic Hornet missions. A consequence of that trade is that the Rhino's are using up airframes at a faster than anticipated rate which will lead to a similar O&S problem around 2025 when they begin lining up by the dozens for SLEP's/SLAP's. Hence the push to buy 50-75 now to reduce the impact of that choke of the depots.